Baking Math for Families and Young Children
To help my children with math, I had to find where math had its groove in our life鈥攚here it was applied and practical. I didn鈥檛 want to pass on my math fears! Because I teach baking, we used simple math concepts, methods, and measurements, and we enjoyed the results. Children often want to help鈥攁nd help sample the finished product! Find time, at least once a week, to hold baking sessions that can start math conversations and calculations!
Baking math begins with forming a habit called mis en place鈥攅verything in order鈥斺�渄ucks in a row鈥濃�攂efore you ever put the flour in the bowl. Bake together and build math skills with these 10 baking habits:
1.听Pick an ingredient your children have read about鈥攁pples, blueberries, carrots, butter, zucchini. Ask children 鈥淲hat shapes do you see?鈥� Bake waffles, pancakes, bread, and pizza.
2.听Choose a recipe with simple ingredients and 1, 2, 3, directions. Recipes at HomeBaking.org and KidsaCookin.org (Spanish or English) are a great start. Check your library for听Cooking Class听and听Baking Class听by Deanna F. Cook鈥攑erfect for young bakers.
3.听Read the recipe, top to bottom,听reading aloud ingredient names, amounts needed, oven temperature, baking time, and steps, beginning to end.
4.听Ask, 鈥淲hat ingredient is used in the smallest amount?鈥�听鈥淲hich is the largest amount?鈥� 鈥淚s there more flour than sugar or butter?鈥�
5.Find each ingredient and place it on the counter.听Ask your child to help put the ingredients in the order they will be used.
6.听Offer children under age 2 the dry measuring cups to use as stacking cups. By age 3, they can hand you 鈥渢he littlest cup,鈥� (1/4 cup), the 鈥渕edium-sized cup鈥� (1/2 cup) or, you can ask, 鈥淲hich cup has a 3 on it (鈪� cup)?鈥� Help children fill the cups and level the measure off. Let them add the ingredients to the mixing bowl.
7.听Bake the same-sized cookies, muffins, and loaves.听This isn鈥檛 just to avoid fights over the biggest cookie! Help 4-year-olds work on hand鈥揺ye coordination by scooping batter or dough. Ask them to guess why all the cookies or muffins on one pan need to be equally spaced and the same size. (All will bake the same鈥攊f some are big and some small, the big ones might be raw while the little ones could be burnt.)
8.听What is a fraction鈥攐r part of a cup?听Have your 5-year-old measure two 陆 cups of flour and transfer flour to the 1 cup measure. Show them that 鈥�1 over 2鈥� is 陆 cup; if the 陆 cup is used twice it will equal 1 cup. This may be done with 录 (four 录 cups = 1 cup) or 鈪� (three 鈪� cups = 1 cup).
9.听Check the oven鈥擜sk if it is empty. 鈥淗ow many racks are in it?鈥� 鈥淲e will use the middle rack鈥攚hich one is that?鈥� Heat the oven to the temperature in the recipe鈥攈ave your older children match the oven degrees in the recipe to the oven dial or toggle up to the degree number. Ask, 鈥淗ow hot will the oven be?鈥� Compare and contrast the oven鈥檚 heat to a hot summer day鈥攖he oven is 3 to 4 times hotter! Remind your children: ONLY adults should load and remove pans from a hot oven.
10.听Get a simple food scale.听Help older children weigh their pancake, muffin, or bread serving to see its net weight. 鈥淚s it 1 ounce?鈥� That鈥檚 one serving. 鈥淒oes it weigh more?鈥� 鈥淗ow many bread servings is your pancake?鈥� Weigh the ingredients after measuring them. See if your child can get 1 cup of flour to weigh 4.25 ounces three times in a row!
Above all, wash hands before you begin and after you handle flour and raw batter or dough to reduce the number of bacteria on your hands.
Sharon Davis is a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher and test kitchen professional with the Home Baking Association, a nonprofit dedicated to extending food skill education to youth educators at home, school, care centers, and communities.